Places in Middle-earth
Ered Gorgoroth
Type: Mountains, Hills, Promontories
Region: Beleriand & North
Other Names
the Gorgoroth
the Mountains of Terror
Location: The sheer mountain range forming the southern boundary of the heights of Dorthonion and northern boundary of Nan Dungortheb.
Description:
Ered Gorgoroth 'The Mountains of Terror', northward of Nan Dungortheb; also called the Gorgoroth.The Silmarillion, Index of Names
Sheer were the precipices of Ered Gorgoroth, and beneath their feet were shadows that were laid before the rising of the Moon. Beyond lay the wilderness of Dungortheb, where ... horror and madness walked.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 19, Of Beren and LĂșthien
Ungoliant ... abode long time under the shadow of the precipices in which Dorthonion fell southward. And they became known as Ered Gorgoroth, the Mountains of Terror, and none dared go thither, or pass nigh them; there life and light were strangled, and there all waters were poisoned.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 10, Of the Sindar
[The] thin waters that spilled from Ered Gorgoroth were defiled, and perilous to drink, for the hearts of those that tasted them were filled with shadows of madness and despair.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 14, Of Beleriand and Its Realms
Etymology
gor 'horror, dread' in Gorthaur, Gorthol; goroth of the same meaning, with reduplicated gor, in Gorgoroth, Ered Gorgoroth. ...
orod 'mountain'.... Plural ered in Ered Engrin, Ered Linden, etc.The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names
Contributors: Elena Tiriel 7Jul06